Tuesday, March 04, 2008

cap in hand

The more observant among you will have noticed the addition of a "donate" button to my sidebar.

I've called it the "tip jar" to make myself feel better about having it there.

This is something I have resisted doing for a long time (although I have never judged others with these little do-hickeys) because it felt too much like sticking my hand out (which it kind of is). And, as cancer patients go (and actually, as people go), I am incredibly fortunate. I live in a country with universal health care, I have good private insurance, which includes long-term disability and we are a two income household.

But my income has dropped considerably on disability insurance (which is a percentage of what I was making when I went off and not indexed to inflation). And this blog (and by extension, cancer - the irony is not lost on me) has opened up a whole new world, in which I would like to continue to participate.

There are a number of conferences in the coming months that I would love to attend:

Now, the world certainly won't end if I can't participate in these events but I would love to go to at least one of them. I do feel that I have a real contribution to make, that I will learn a lot and that my writing, this blog and my community (online and off) will all benefit.

So I am looking at myriad ways to keep costs down. But I'll still need to find funding to attend even one of these conferences. To that end, I have opened a savings account into which I am putting my ad revenue (a whopping $100 since December). And if anyone clicks on the tip jar, it will go in there, too.

So if something I write particularly resonates with you and you have a little extra dough, by all means, click away. Or if you've always wanted to buy me a beer (or a glass of wine) or even take me to lunch, now's your chance.

And a note to my friends who sent me to BlogHer for my 40th birthday last year and to my family members who have already been unbelievably generous: this request DOES NOT APPLY to you! In fact, I think the button won't work if you try to use it.

Off to chemo today. Not minding so much now that I know I'll have three glorious weeks off.

7 comments:

My name is Ryan Armbrust. In December of 2006 I was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I went through 10 months of chemo, good times, and finally had a clean PET Scan October 1st 2007.

While taking time off from my day job I created an online t-shirt shop, http://www.chucklenutshirts.com

I have a section that is nothing but off-color cancer shirts and such. There are enough "Feel Good" cancer shirts out there, I wanted to offer something more edgy and hip for the "Hipster" cancer patient. Currently my best seller reads, "Hey Cancer, you picked the wrong Bitch".

I am donating a portion of each sale to different Cancer related charities. I am trying to spread the word about my cancer shirts. The more sales I can make, the more money I can donate.

I am not the type of person to sit back and take life as it comes. I figure, if things are out of my control, I am not going to worry, instead, I am going to have fun with it. I hope others do the same.

I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE to have my Cancer Shirt Page included on your website.

I'm tempted to go to BlogHer (maybe with a bag over my head for anonymity's sake) -- let us know if you go. I hope the donation button helps. I have one that hasn't brought me much money, but has brought me lots of gratitude.

Laurie, Bonnie asked me to look at your blog for various reasons. My husband @ 42 was diagnosed with liver cancer. March 8, 2005 changed our lives, he has surgery by mid April and had his right lobe removed, the beauty of the liver it regrows. Unfortunately in September 2005, we were told it metasasized into his lungs. He has surgery again in May 2007, 7 tumors were removed. He's in remission at the moment, but cancer has changed our lives incrediably. He has been on every non-traditional therapy known to man. From drinking tahebo tea bark, to taking shark's cartlidge, and the list goes on. I believe this helped him. I'm inspired by your blog and wish you and your family all the best. Sincerely Rita Cantalini

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about me

Laurie lives, writes and plays in beautiful Ottawa with her two gorgeous sons, one handsome spouse and an ill-behaved Tibetan Terrier. She enjoys strong coffee, knitting, reading, long walks around the neighbourhood and trying to find her floors under all the rubble (OK maybe not so much that last part). Laurie is the author of Not Done Yet: Living Through Breast Cancer and she also blogs at getfrivolous.com She dreams of one day writing a novel, travelling to Australia and finding matches for all the socks that come out of the laundry.